[Last updated 3/15/23 1:05 PM PT—Auto Club Speedway is currently closed, as its track is being shortened.]
I want to drive through every drive-thru Christmas lights experience there is.
My latest conquest was the "Magic of Lights" installation at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
But whereas at the Glittering Lights display in Las Vegas I wanted to know how slow I could go...
...here, I wanted to know how fast I could go.
Because I've driven this track before. And there's no such thing as too fast.
But while there was no minimum nor maximum speed limit at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in Fontana we were restricted to 5 mph.
That's barely moving at all.
And I'm not the most patient person in the world.
I want to take my time, but when I'm ready, I'm ready to go.
So, as I passed the nativity scenes and the "12 Days of Christmas" depicted in lights...
...I found myself going very slowly in my car...
...barely crawling past the wise men and the Angel Gabriel...
...not even outpacing a horse-drawn carriage...
...or the tempo of a Victorian tea dance...
...and then gunning it when I had the chance, past garden gnomes...
...and lords a-leaping...
...and, for some reason, fire-breathing dragons.
Much of it didn't feel very Christmasy to me, nor did it feel incredibly Southern Californian.
Save for the occasional palm tree.
But I welcome a light display at any time, taken at any speed.
Even if it's all just a blur.
Especially if it's all just a blur.
I've got enough time to stop and admire the surfers.
I can watch the cars ahead of me meander through the light tunnels.
And then I can zoom my way through at my own pace...
...be it at a snail's pace or, at least for a short distance, hyperspeed.
And so describes my time in Southern California throughout the rest of every year as well. It's a wonder I can ever focus on anything without everything being lost in a trail of light.
Related Posts:
Photo Essay: Glittering Lights at Las Vegas Speedway
A First Time for Everything
Photo Essay: Griffith Park's Holiday Light Train
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